How Wes won

FOXBORO - As a largely ignored college prospect without any of the measurables coaches covet, Wes Welker did have some options. Oklahoma wouldn't let him walk on, but Oklahoma State would. That's where the 5-foot-9 Patriots receiver and punt returner was headed in 2000. But he drove to see then-new Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and handed him a highlight tape, anyway. Welker might be leading the NFL with 79 catches for 854 yards despite missing two games, and he's coming off a 15-catch, 192-yard performance in Sunday's win against the Jets, but his beginnings were not illustrious. He was overlooked then, too. ``What did I think when I first saw him?'' Leach said yesterday, repeating a question and laughing. ``Short and slow. Then I put the film in and there's play after play after play after play. Then we put in a playoff game tape, and I thought it was a highlight film.'' As best as the spread offense guru can recall (``I'm not exaggerating,'' he said), he saw Welker intercept two passes and take them back for touchdowns for Heritage (Okla.) High. Welker also returned a punt for a score, made 13 tackles, had 60 rushing yards along with his 220 receiving, and kicked a 52-yard field goal to win the game. Leach offered his last scholarship to Welker saying, ``We can figure out something to do with him.'' Welker wound up a four-year starter for the Red Raiders. He is the program's all-time leading receiver and the national record-holder with 1,761 punt return yards. NFL teams know about his prowess now. Yet on Sunday, the Jets chose to focus on Randy Moss, leaving Welker to feast on their secondary. ``He never lets you down out there,'' quarterback Tom Brady told WEEI yesterday. ``For his size, to be as durable as he is, it's pretty incredible. There's only one Wes Welker.'' By now, it's no surprise. Welker helped the Patriots set the offensive world on fire when he arrived in 2007, catching 112 passes for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns. He has continued the success in 2008 and 2009, catching short passes and refusing to go down. That's why coach Bill Belichick traded for him, not just to take away the Dolphins' toughest weapon. ``He killed us in Miami,'' said Belichick, who sent second- and seventh-round picks for Welker, then signed him to a five-year, $18.1 million contract. ``If you can't stop him, then try to get him on your team.'' Belichick studied Texas Tech because the Patriots drafted quarterback Kliff Kingsbury. ``We got the wrong guy,'' Belichick quipped. ``He was definitely on our radar, but you look at him and he doesn't have great time speed, he doesn't have great size. It was hard to project.'' That Welker, who ran a 4.8 40-yard dash, went undrafted was not surprising to Leach. ``I knew it would be based on measurables,'' Leach said. ``But he maneuvers better than the people chasing him, he comes out of his cuts better, he has better peripheral vision, he's more competitive. He has the ability to focus longer than all of them.'' When Leach flips on the TV and watches Welker play for the Pats, he sees similarities to what Welker did in Tech's spread offense. ``I don't think that New England came up with the idea independently to throw a bubble screen to a thick-legged white kid,'' Leach joked. ``New England's obviously doing a lot of the same things we did here, which is try to figure out ways to get him the ball.'' It all culminated Sunday. As Welker's receptions total skyrocketed, his mindset never changed. He kept expecting the ball. ``That's my mentality every time I step out there,'' Welker said. But he's not yet ready to consider his NFL stardom. ``It's definitely cool to be able to get those catches,'' Welker said, ``And I'll probably look back at the end of the year and reminisce.'' - irapoport@bostonherald.com